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With millions of votes already cast in the U.S. presidential election pointing to an advantage for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in critical battleground states, as well as signs of strength in traditionally Republican territory, both candidates were pushing get-out-the-vote efforts Thursday in the key swing states of Ohio and North Carolina. (Published Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016)

With a dozen days left until Election Day, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are refusing to commit to working with each other after the election, putting in question their abilities to heal the country's wounds after a volatile presidential race.

"I just want to make that decision at a later date," said Trump, when asked whether he would cooperate with a Clinton administration. "Hopefully I won't have to make that decision." He spoke in an interview broadcast Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Traditionally, presidential candidates hold a well-publicized meeting in the weeks after the election. While the moment of bipartisanship is often short-lived, the public appearance sends an important signal to the country that both parties are ready to accept the will of the voters and move forward.

In 2012, President Barack Obama and defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney shared an hour-long White House lunch of turkey chili and chicken salad. Four years earlier, Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain pledged to work together on economic issues and national security after meeting in Chicago.

Privately, the 2016 candidates may be striking a more conciliatory tone. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the New York Archbishop, has said that in a warm private exchange at an otherwise testy charity dinner last week, Clinton had told Trump that "whatever happens, we need to work together afterward." Trump, he said, told Clinton "you are one tough and talented woman."

In the final weeks of the campaign, both candidates have begun to focus more on their post-election plans. Trump made two appearances at his hotels this week, raising questions about whether he's trying to shore up his corporate brand, amid signs that his campaign has hurt his family businesses.

Trump has largely refused to back down from his defiant assault on the election's integrity, remaining unwilling to say whether he'd accept the results if he loses. "Don't worry about it," he told ABC.

Clinton, too, has turned some of her focus to what happens after Nov. 8, though her efforts assume she wins. Deep in transition planning, she's begun retooling her campaign message to emphasize unifying the country after a divisive race.

Clinton will campaign with Michelle Obama on Thursday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, marking the first joint appearance for the two first ladies on the campaign trail. Obama's appearances have become a key part of Clinton's effort to fire up women, particularly black women for whom she's a model and a source of pride.

The presidential candidates and dozens of outside groups involved in the race are also due to file their final major fundraising reports before Election Day. These documents will show fundraising and spending between Oct. 1 and Oct. 19_giving a sense of what resources each side had available as the campaign entered its frantic final stretch.